


Whumptober 2020 - No. 20 Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

by Jakkuor



Series: Whumptober 2020 [20]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: [awolnation voice] run
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:53:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakkuor/pseuds/Jakkuor
Series: Whumptober 2020 [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948606
Kudos: 3
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 2020 - No. 20 Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

Jakkuor tears down the corridor, adrenaline pounding in her veins. She managed to escape Solinar's grasp while he was trying to shackle her and now this is her chance! She can escape this horrible place forever if she's quick enough. Her heart is racing so hard it almost hurts and her lungs are burning, begging for air, but she won't slow down. She can't. If she hesitates even a little and gets caught... She shudders as she runs, not daring to think about that. She's not going to get caught. She's going to get out of here. She doesn't know where she'll go or what she'll do but that can wait.  _ Out  _ is the goal.

She scrambles up a set of stairs, encouraged onward by Solinar yelling somewhere behind her. He's not going to catch her. He's not going to touch her ever again. She pauses just a moment, glancing up and down a second corridor before deciding to sprint to the left. She doesn't know the upper floor of this place nearly as well as she knows the lower, but she's certain she knows it well enough. (Gods,  _ please  _ let it be enough)

A shout of rage from a different voice nearly freezes her in her tracks.  _ Andrelina.  _ Jakk's panic spikes, stomach churning, but she doesn't dare stop.

"Jakkuor! Get your ass back here,  _ now! _ "

She almost stops.  _ Almost.  _ But she remembers the scars on her arms, on her back, on her face, the experiments Andrelina's put her through, the  _ torture,  _ and she keeps running. 

She's so close to the doors, she can see them just ahead. Andrelina and Solinar are both on her tail. If she can just make it outside, she's sure she can lose them. Freedom is so close she can almost taste it…

And then she trips. Her heart sinks; they're going to catch her and she's going to be punished. By both of them, probably. She closes her eyes tightly, bringing her hands up to protect her face from the stone floor she's about to hit. 

The impact never comes. At least, not the one she's expecting. Instead of harsh stone, it's grass. Jakk opens her eyes to find she's in a forest. The keep - her old prison - is nowhere in sight. She scrambles to her feet, surveying the area as realization starts to set in: It wasn't real. Another of those... waking nightmares - for lack of a better term. She's been away from that awful place for quite some time now, thanks to-

_ Oh shit. I lost them.  _

She glances around again, more frantically. She doesn't recognize where she is. It's dark, and all the trees would probably look the same even if it were light out. She isn't even sure which direction she came from. Panic threatens to choke her but she does her best to swallow it down. The last time this happened, one of them had chased after her. Maybe if she just waits a few minutes, one of the others will show up. She would've had to run past someone on her way out of the hut. Someone must be on the way... Right?

Time seems to crawl by so slowly in the dark when you're alone. How many minutes creep by while she stands there? How long has it been since she left? It's impossible to tell. Her ears twitch as she strains to hear anything other than the chirp of crickets, the distant rustle of nighttime animals, but there is nothing. 

She swallows hard. Part of her wants to call out to the party. If someone’s near, they’ll hear her and maybe find her. But... it's dangerous to yell in the woods in the middle of the night - you could be alerting anyone or anything to where you are. And Jakk's lost, and defenceless aside from her claws.

Lost, defenceless, and  _ alone.  _ Oh, and cold; she's starting to shiver, the adrenaline mostly worn off now. And her cloak's back in the hut. She hugs herself and tries to take deep, calming breaths. She can probably find her way back. If no one's noticed she's missing yet - and why would anyone? she's supposed to be asleep - then she could maybe get back before morning. Sneaking back into the hut might be difficult, but at least she'd be back. Then she wouldn't have to worry about anyone having to come all the way out to find her or getting upset about her running off. Again. 

She gives the area another quick survey. It looks like the bushes ahead of her have been disturbed. Like someone blindly tumbled through them. Maybe that's where she came from? She seriously hopes it is, considering it's her only real option at getting back. She starts in that direction, barely noticing the branches that scrape at her bare arms.  _ Please let this be the right way. _

Time passes, and she has no idea how much. But her pace slows, exhaustion starting to settle over her. The cold has seeped into her bones and she can't stop trembling. And the shadows all around her start to turn sinister; the wind carrying hisses of old tormentors, the bent limbs of trees resembling outstretched hands or curled fists poised to strike. The forest is silent, save for her occasional terrified gasp when the hallucinations get the better of her. 

It's starting to get light out. She definitely should've been able to find  _ someone _ by now. A small whine escapes her, tears forming in her eyes. Will they bother to look for her? Or will they cut their losses and carry on? She's more trouble than she's worth - she knows this well - so she has the feeling she already knows the answer. She's going to die out here in the woods, cold and alone. A fitting death for someone so worthless.


End file.
